Quakes, fires, hurricanes and now war? North Korea pledges to attack the USA if new sanctions pass

China and Russia appear prepared to agree to new sanctions on North Korea.

North Korea is threatening war, again, should the UN pass the harshest sanctions yet to punish the country for its latest nuclear test. North Korea continues to defy UN resolutions and pressure from the international community in pursuit of missiles that can deliver nuclear weapons to the United States.

Highlights

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- North Korea is threatening the U.S. will pay a "due price" if the UN passes the most severe sanctions ever faced by the rogue state.

"The DPRK is ready and willing to use any form of ultimate means... The forthcoming measures to be taken by the DPRK will cause the US the greatest pain and suffering it had[sic] ever gone though in its entire history."

The U.S. has called for sanctions that would virtually end all trade with North Korea and freeze all assets controlled by the regime. However, China and Russia refused to accept the initial U.S. proposal and have agreed to a more limited set of sanctions. Still, with Russia and China on board with tightening the sanctions, North Korea will be hit with additional restrictions.

The question next becomes how North Korea will respond. Will they stage a military attack? It's unlikely, but possible.

The U.S. has signaled its impatience with the UN process of talks and sanctions which appear to have done nothing to curtail the pace of North Korea's weapons development program. In fact, that program appears to have accelerated.

The speech delivered by Ambassador Nikki Haley calling for sanctions also suggested this is the end of American patience with North Korea and the international sanctions process. Haley made clear that no talks or sanctions have worked to halt the regime's nuclear program.

North Korea is betting that the United States will not stage a preemptive attack, and that if the U.S. made such an attack, China would come to its aid. Experts agree, the U.S. cannot stage such an attack because the risk of Chinese intervention is significant, and the North can also inflict severe casualties on South Korean civilians living within range of their artillery. For these reasons, a diplomatic solution is preferred.

Conversely, the U.S. must deal with the bellicose rhetoric from North Korea which routinely threatens to strike the United States.

Ultimately, the United States has incredible military capability and can destroy North Korea, and can even block a Chinese military response, if necessary. Naturally, China does not want conflict with the United States, which is the country's largest trading partner, so it's unclear if China would actually risk conflict with the United States.

The UN seems to have got the message that the U.S. is out of patience. It is likely the new sanctions will pass. What happens next is up to North Korea. If North Korea stages a military provocation, anything could happen. If the North continues to develop its program, the U.S. will have a case for war. Ultimately, China and Russia will have to decide if they want to stay aligned to North Korea, a nation that offers little value except as a buffer against U.S. hegemony, or if they want to maintain amicable relations with the world's largest superpower.